The Morbid Romantic: A Look at Alexander McQueen's Enduring Legacy

Article Written By Lili Jones

Calling himself “a romantic schizophrenic," Alexander McQueen was one of the most controversial fashion figures to date. Finding excitement in tension, McQueen drew upon opposites exploring themes such as life, beauty and regality in comparison to death, poverty, and decay. While rich in art, history and storytelling, McQueen’s legacy is cemented in how he utilized fabric as a medium for social commentary and political art.

Performance Art: the McQueen Experience

McQueen wanted reactions from his audience: to push them out of their comfort zone. As such his shows became artforms in themselves, almost as fantastical as the clothing.

In Plato’s Atlantis McQueen explored a metamorphic future where (due to rising sea levels) human beings had been forced to live aquatically: conjuring a blend of theatricality and futurism. He streamed the show to those beyond his immediate audience, creating a dialogue between his mind and that of his consumer. McQueen had a fascination with the human body and its significance, he even used scans of his own brain as images for show invitations. His fascination with the body translated into how he constructed clothes by working directly on the body rather than in a 2D conceptual plane.

In Voss the stage was clinical and stark with the models caged in by reflective mirrors. The clothes were complex and fantastical, granting a sharp contrast to the empty void of the white catwalk. The finale of the show centered around a rusted mirrored box smashing to the ground to reveal a naked model, hidden by a gas mask while being swarmed by moths: the physical reproduction of ‘Sanitarium.’ The notion of the uncanny this gave stemmed from the fact a grotesque creation was planted within the heart of show: its sullied contents hidden by a wall of polluted mirror and glamorised by clothing before being unveiled to a horrified audience. This phenomenon reflected a grim commentary on the more vapid aspects of the fashion industry.

The fashion industry revolves around a fundamental fascination with idealised beauty and youth. McQueen subverted this: focusing not only on death but on the process of how our bodies decay and wither overtime. In this McQueen captured a haunted beauty- something beyond superficiality that tapped into the uncanny aspects of the Gothic tradition. Contrasting the glamour of the fashion industry with brutish decay. In a realm of fragile beauty when one seems chasing eternal youth, McQueen searched for nobility in decay.

“It is important to look at death because it is a part of life. It is a sad thing, melancholy but romantic at the same time. It is the end of a cycle – everything has to end. The cycle of life is positive because it gives room for new things.”

-Alexander McQueen

In this way I would argue McQueen goes beyond ‘beauty’ and taps into the realm of the sublime. The sublime refers to greatness beyond what can be calculated (or indeed comprehended), something large and awe-inspiring, it brings with it fear as well as intrigue. I would argue that McQueen’s directness and challenging nature when it came to his inspirations, helped to mark his work as special: serving not merely to delight but to terrify. As it is McQueen's use of tragedy and empathy to create beauty that imbues his works with a dignity and authenticity (despite its peculiarity) that stirs the souls of those who encounter it.

For a further look at the themes of McQueen explore the Museum of Savage Beauty on the V&A website (https://www.vam.ac.uk/museumofsavagebeauty/)

An Enduring Legacy

Being one of the youngest designers to ever win “British Designer of the Year,” McQueen went on to win the accolade four times. While he may have been controversial, what cannot be ignored was his talent in brining drama to the catwalk. Invoking a sense of catharsis, McQueen shows capture imagination by creating visceral experiences in the audiences. Perhaps this, along with the fabulous clothing, is what continues to make McQueen so iconic in the world of fashion: the desire to push people out of their comfort zone and embrace the spectacular.